John Morris (cricketer)

Infobox Cricketer


nationality = English
country = England
country abbrev = ENG
name = John Morris
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Right-hand bat
bowling style = Right-arm medium
balls = true
tests = 3
test runs = 71
test bat avg = 23.66
test 100s/50s = -/-
test top score = 32
test overs = -
test wickets = -
test bowl avg = -
test 5s = -
test 10s = -
test best bowling = -
test catches/stumpings = 3/-
ODIs = 8
ODI runs = 167
ODI bat avg = 23.85
ODI 100s/50s = -/1
ODI top score = 63*
ODI overs = -
ODI wickets = -
ODI bowl avg = -
ODI 5s = -
ODI 10s = -
ODI best bowling = -
ODI catches/stumpings = 2/-
date = 1 January
year = 2006
source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/17102.html

John Edward Morris (born April 1, 1964, Crewe, Cheshire) is a former English cricketer who played in 3 Tests and 8 ODIs from 1990 to 1991.

A stocky, right-handed middle-order batsman, Morris played most of his first-class cricket for Derbyshire. He had a curious international career.

Morris was picked for the 3-match Test series at home against India in 1990, which proved a tour-de-force for England captain Graham Gooch. The [http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63534.html 1st Test] at Lord's is best remembered for the batting of Gooch, who scored 333 and 123, and of Kapil Dev, who, with 9 wickets down and confirmed tail-ender Narendra Hirwani at the non-striker's end, hit four consecutive sixes off the last four balls of an over bowled by Eddie Hemmings to save the follow on. England won the match on the fifth day, but Morris played little part in the match, save for taking three catches.

Morris also played in the 2nd and 3rd Tests of the series, but both were drawn, and Morris had no opportunity distinguish himself, his highest score being 32 in the second innings of the [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1990/IND_IN_ENG/IND_ENG_T3_23-28AUG1990.html 3rd Test] at the Oval, following on. Nevertheless, the selectors stuck with him, and he was selected for the tour to Australia in 1990-1991. However, his three Tests in England proved to be his last.

During a tour game against Queensland at Carrara, Morris unwisely chose to join former Test captain David Gower in a practical joke that sadly backfired. (Ironically, John Morris and David Gower share a birthday, April Fool's Day). Gower piloted a small plane over the ground while play was continuing, with Morris as co-pilot. According to some reports, Gower "buzzed" the ground.

Conventional wisdom has it that the England management responded severely to the incident and the associated media fuss, and their response was that Morris was not selected for any of the Test matches, or indeed any Test match ever again. There are facts that seem to back up this assertion. The England side struggled in the Tests. England lost the series 3-0, and batting rivals Allan Lamb, Robin Smith, Alec Stewart, Wayne Larkins and Michael Atherton all averaged less than 33 while collecting 21 Test caps between them. Morris performed adequately enough in the tour matches and scored an important century against Queensland just before the 4th Test.

However, it's not such a simple story. The non-selection on that tour could have been because he wasn't deemed a good enough player. The most crucial piece of evidence is that the aerial events took place not (as often cited) in a "warm up match", but toward the end of the tour, just after Morris had scored the century referred to. Further evidence to the contrary is that Morris was selected for the end-of-tour "World Series" One Day International series, in which his contribution with the bat was mediocre: his best performance was a top score of 63 not out in the first match at Adelaide, which was not enough to see England to victory. In his seven other ODIs, he only managed to score 20 or more runs on one occasion.

Gower was undoubtedly the instigator of the flying incident. [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/232946.html Cricinfo - When Gower's tour took off ] ] Depending on interpretation of how Morris was treated, his different treatment was presumably because Gower was considered integral to the side's success. Having enjoyed considerable personal success in the early part of the Test series, scoring two hundreds, Gower's form declined sharply after the incident.

What is certain is that both players were fined £1,000, the maximum under the terms of their contract, and Peter Lush and captain Graham Gooch considered sending the pair home from the tour.

Following the tour, Morris never played representative cricket for England again. After a long career at Derbyshire, he later played for Durham and Nottinghamshire, retiring in 2001.

Morris is currently employed as Head of Cricket at Derbyshire and also does occasional commentary for Sky Sports.

References

External links

*cricinfo|ref=ci/content/player/17102.html